


Not A Date

by yami0204



Category: Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger, Tensou Sentai Goseiger
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-09
Updated: 2019-12-09
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:47:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21725491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yami0204/pseuds/yami0204
Summary: This is not a date.
Relationships: Alata/Captain Marvelous
Kudos: 22





	Not A Date

**Author's Note:**

> It's absolutely a date.

It wasn’t a date. He wanted that to be very clear. It wasn’t supposed to be a date, but I was still considering it one, even if he wasn’t. I’d never been on a date before, and I wanted to go on a date with him. This was the perfect opportunity to go on a date with him! I never once thought about telling him that I was considering it a date; that was just going to have to be my little secret for the moment.

“This isn’t a date,” he reminded me when we met up for our not-a-date.

“I know,” I replied while smiling brightly. I knew in my heart that this was definitely a date and he was just too embarrassed to admit that this was absolutely a date. He would probably have objected to me pointing out his embarrassment at the idea of going on a date with me, likely protesting at length that he wasn’t embarrassed at all despite his bright red blush, but that’s what all of this charade boiled down to: embarrassment and fear. He was afraid others would see him differently if he were to ever admit that he was taking me on a date, let alone admit that he had any sort of infatuation towards me. Which meant that this would remain not-a-date, even though it was clearly a date.

To those who knew him, they probably would have thought that this was out of character for him, but how wrong they would be. His oldest and dearest friends only had a window to peer through in the hope of understanding him, but this man read like a beautifully complicated novel placed on a pedestal behind the thick glass of that window. I had only been reading the first half of the book with my own intuition, but longed to dive deeper into the pages that were locked away behind the iron locks and heavy chains. I was already on the path to finding the key to unlock that book behind the glass, and that journey filled me with excitement every time I encountered this man.

We both opted to dress a bit more casually to appear like the locals this day. He was wearing a simple button-up red shirt and a pair of fashionable slacks and boots, with a black leather jacket topping off the look. I was clothed in a red-and-white striped t-shirt and a pair of comfy jeans and red sneakers, an off-white cardigan replacing my usual hoodie. It was nice, blending in with people. I’d seen mankind from high above, but now I was able to experience them at their own level, observing up close their ability to thrive through the power of their will and determination. Before, my days were filled with nothing, where I would make a bed in the soft grass of a windy hill and watch the clouds fly by and change shapes. They were lazy, happy days, and I enjoyed them greatly. Despite the bliss under warm, sunny skies, there was always the nagging feeling that I was missing out on whatever was beyond that calm scenery. The wind told stories of what humanity was doing far from my windy hill. It whispered of people doing incredible things, of people doing violent things, of people dying and of people surviving. Butterflies and birds would recite the songs and poems of man in beautiful notes, and the trees and flowers would dance along to these new melodies. No one can honestly regret days like those, but I knew there was a higher purpose for me – for us. That was why we came here, after all.

The dimming sunlight of early autumn bathed us both in its glow as we walked along the tree-lined path. We walked close to each other, careful not to let any stray touches connect while we kept so near. This was not a date, after all; hand-holding was off limits. The scant breeze from the nearby ocean refreshed us with the scent of saltwater, the crisp bite of the northern winds having yet to arrive. The heat of summer was lingering, but the cool breeze was reminder enough that hot days were quickly nearing their end for this year.  
  
“The wind feels nice,” I remarked as a small wave of wind hit us. I breathed it in, letting it rejuvenate my body and soul. It told me that rain was going to come, but not until after sunset.

“Yeah,” he replied, distracted by the heat, the breeze not enough to keep him cool. He unbuttoned a few of the buttons on his shirt, revealing a white tank top underneath. Wetness revealed itself even with such a slight show of skin. He was definitely feeling the heat more than I was.

I frowned and furrowed my brow, looking at my shoes. This not-a-date was kind of unproductive. My not-a-date partner was trying very hard to not be too close and the heat of the day was causing him to wilt. I looked up at him with a bit of a pout as the wind whispered tales in my ear.

Those tales were easily blocked out by the sound of a bell. A happy, cheerful bell. The sound was familiar and friendly and meant only one thing: ice cream.

I grinned, disobeying the silent rule of not invading his space and clasped my hands around one of his wrists, “Do you hear that?”

He looked at me with wide eyes and tried to squirm away, but just because I was smaller than him didn’t mean that I was weak. With his wrist held captive in my hands, I ran towards the sound of the bell, laughing merrily as I dragged my not-boyfriend with me.

“Alata, what are you doing?” he protested, but he didn't try to stop me. Instead, he kept pace. The ice cream cart soon came into view and he knew exactly what I was doing. With a mischievous grin, he freed himself from my grasp and darted off. “Last one there pays!”

It was now a race.

“What?! Wait up, Marvelous!” I cried, running after him. It was so great to see his spirits lift. Food was always a wonderful motivator for him, and ice cream seemed like the perfect snack to keep us both cool from the sweltering heat.

Of course he would beat me. I counted on him beating me. He had always been a lover of food, so a race to obtain food was always going to end in my defeat. I didn’t mind, though. The smile on his face was enough for me not to mind in the least.

Boyish laughter freed from his mouth as his lips curled into a smug grin, “Beat you!” I stopped beside him, laughing softly as he spoke to the ice cream seller, “Vanilla. One scoop.”

The vendor smiled, looking at me for my own order.

Catching my breath, I repeated, “vanilla” and held up a single finger to indicate how many scoops I wanted before I searched my pockets for my wallet. Despite losing to my not-boyfriend, I smiled brilliantly.

“Two single scoop vanillas,” the vendor confirmed warmly, digging up two creamy-white scoops of ice cream and plopping one scoop each into a small cup. He handed the dishes to Marvelous, who was still grinning smugly as though he had just defeated the most heinous monster in the universe, while I pulled out my wallet and handed my money over to the vendor. Plastic spoons were handed to me with my change and I looked to find Marvelous already wandering off without me. I thanked the vendor and raced after Marvelous, who had found a shady bench under a tree. There was something in his smile that made me pause in my hustle, walking calmly the few remaining steps to reach the spot.

He traded me a cup of ice cream for a spoon and we sat quietly under the tree, enjoying our ice cream while birds sang a love song above us in the branches. Marvelous couldn’t understand their song, but I could. They weren’t singing their song for us, but it made me feel strangely self-conscious for a short while. Did the wind whisper of our not-so-secret relationship to the birds? Was our not-a-date compromised due to the elements and the animals knowing of it?

Of course not, I thought, smiling down at my melting ice cream. Marvelous was nearly finished with his while I had barely touched mine, my thoughts having drifted elsewhere for far too long. I followed his example and ate the ice cream, smiling merrily at the cold sweetness of it.

“You’re too slow,” Marvelous chided, though there was no malice to his tone.

“If I eat too fast, I’ll get brain freeze,” I giggled, glancing at him between bites. He always came off as gruff and egotistic, thinking only about his own interests, but there was a softness hidden within him. He was kinder than he let on, and I relished in these moments of gentle playfulness.

“Too slow!” He laughed and patted my knee, just for a second. When the hand was gone, I longed for it to return.

I downed the rest of the ice cream as quickly as I could without getting brain freeze, while Marvelous made joking remarks as he poked me in the side, trying to get me to laugh and spit out my food. It was miraculous that despite my wiggling away from his poking, nothing fell from my mouth or the cup. His laughter rang in my ear, louder and more soothing than the songs of the birds above us. The song held no emotion of love within it, but that laughter contained all of the love in the world.

All of that love was for me.

Now finished with my food, I could properly push his poking fingers away from me, pinning his hands down into his lap. He didn’t resist, his eyes watching me with great fondness. I leaned in close to him, our faces a feather’s space apart.

“I love you,” I whispered lightly, “but please stop poking me.”

Before I could hear a response from him, I closed the gap between us and locked our lips together. A noise hitched in his throat loud enough for me to hear, but again he didn’t resist. We stayed like that for what felt like a small eternity before I broke the kiss, smiling up at him.

“Happy anniversary,” I said sweetly.

Marvelous trained his gaze on me, a blush growing over his cheeks while he sat paralyzed. He blinked several times to shake himself from his shocked state and squeaked out, “What?”

“Happy anniversary.”

“Yes, I heard that, but...”

I shook my head and laughed, “It’s the anniversary of when I became your guardian angel! You wanted to go on this not-a-date without remembering that?”

“I didn’t even realize...” He looked at me, stunned that I had remembered something like that after all this time.

I scooted myself as close to him as possible, resting my head on his shoulder. He wasn’t as sweaty as he had been before the ice cream, which was good for me. I could properly take in his scent without the added bonus of stench.

A moment of silence fell between us and I could sense that he was trying to take in the information I had given him. He sighed, “You’re not mad that I forgot, are you?”

“Why would I be mad? Everyone forgets things. I’ve forgotten all kinds of important things before!” I hummed thoughtfully, “I once didn’t show up for my own birthday party because I forgot it was my birthday. Don’t feel bad for forgetting.”

“I set up this date for us without even...” His voice trailed into a growl as he scooped up my hand into his larger one. “I’m sorry.”

“You finally admitted that this is a date,” I smirked.

“I... I-I didn’t mean to,” he stammered, squeezing my hand lightly.

“It’s a date!” I said in a sing-song tone, grinning.

“Fine,” he sighed, “this is a date. We’re on a date. We’re dating.”

“Say I’m the best boyfriend and guardian angel you’re ever had.” My grin widened while my eyes stayed trained on him.

“You’re...”

“I’m?”

“You’re an okay boyfriend and guardian angel. I guess,” he grumbled.

I shoved him with my elbow playfully, “Close enough.”

Unfazed by the shove, he looked at me with great fondness and love that I could never fully place into words. The expression in his eyes was so loving and sweet that I knew that none of his friends would believe me if I told them how loving and sweet Marvelous could be.

“Alata,” he said slowly.

I nodded quietly.

“Alata,” he repeated as he smiled so beautifully down at me, “can we go somewhere with air conditioning before I drown in my sweat?”

I laughed and pulled my hand from his moist one, shaking the wetness from it. “Do you want to go shopping? Stores have air conditioning.”

“Sure. Anything is better than this burning hot park.” He rose to his feet, shedding his jacket from his torso. The lining was wet with sweat, and his back matched the pattern of the wetness.

I followed his lead, keeping a professional distance from my sweaty boyfriend. I looked up at the tree and waved to the birds in the branches, “Thank you for your beautiful songs!”

Marvelous covered his face in embarrassment, “Don’t thank the birds. They might shit on you.”

“They sang for us. I had to thank them.”

He shook his head and tugged my sleeve before trudging towards town. I gave a final wave to the birds, and the wind whispered tales from across the ocean into my ear before blowing past us. I whispered for it to linger on Marvelous while we talked, and I smiled at how he soaked in the cool ocean breeze.

“When I get back home,” I began quietly as we walked, “can I tell everyone that it was a date?”

“It’s a date,” he said softly, his hand searching for mine.

My hand reached for that searching hand, keeping it secure as I laced my small fingers between his rough, scarred ones, “It’s a date.”


End file.
